Fox of the Whirlpool
by KaitanAtreides
Summary: I suck at summaries, so R&R... rated T 'cause I'm INSANE. NaruTen. SlightlyLessIdioticNaruto.
1. Orphan Part 1

Naruto Uzumaki- unsuspecting container of the Kyuubi no Youko, orphaned at birth, and hated by the village for his father's sealing of the demon fox inside him, living in Konohagakure no Sato in the Land of Fire. Naruto sat sideways on a swing at the orphanage, staring sadly at the other kids running and playing. The adults' shunning of Naruto had rubbed off on the children, and they beat him whenever he tried to come play with them. He particularly feared one big dark-haired boy, called Sanshun, who to Naruto's four year old eyes was a giant trying to kill him every day. As a backhanded slap broke him out of his thoughts and sent him spinning off of the swing, his legs became tangled in the rope and he fell heavily to the ground. The kids formed a circle around the fallen boy in his orange jumpsuit, grinning evilly as Sanshun and his cronies started to threateningly smack their fists into their open palms in anticipation of the beating to come. Then a call went up from the entrance, "The Hokage! The Hokage is here!" The boys' faces, having all turned at the noise, turned back as one to Naruto.

"His 'grandpa' is here," one remarked, a sneer evident in his voice.

"Looks like we'll have to cut this one short." another nameless bully added.

Naruto tried to run, but he was thrown down again and a boy sat on his back to hold him down as they closed in. Several painful minutes which seemed like hours later, they laughed and walked off, leaving a barely conscious Naruto behind. He crawled slowly up and stumbled towards the gate, fearing that Ojii-san would have already left. His fears were proved true as the only person over three feet tall in sight was that matron who had it in for him. "Demon brat! Get in here and clean your mess up!"

"What? Why?"

"Another orphanage burned down and they're staying here! Now clean up your room for your roommate!" Following this, she swung her cane at him as he dove forward, landing heavily on the ground for the third time in fifteen minutes. He sprinted off, his cuts and bruises fading as he ran, panting as he reached the long stairway that led up to the old attic, the only place he could find some solace, peace and quiet, and respite from the merciless five year olds outside. He laboriously climbed, several freshly healed wounds reopening before he reached the top. He lay on the floor for a minute, utterly spent. Then he slowly stood back up, moving painfully despite his increased healing power, to his scant possessions in one corner of his room; a broken old chest of drawers from the dump, a locked box containing his gifts from Ojii-san and a lock of red hair said to belong to his mother. A sleeping bag, and a pranking kit underneath the rickety bed frame he slept on completed the poor ensemble.

Immediately after he shoved it all to one corner of the room, the door burst open and the raspy voice of the matron ripped through the silence as she led forward a scared-looking little girl with her hair done up in two buns on her head wearing a Chinese blouse. She managed a weak smile at Naruto, who grinned his trademark foxy grin right back. The crone hurled a stick at the Kyuubi container and confided, a little too loudly, to the bun-haired girl, "A nice young girl like you shouldn't talk to him. And if he troubles you, come straight to me." She paused, nodded, and apparently satisfied with this new act of hatred towards the Uzumaki boy, turned and left, slamming the flimsy door behind her.

After a small, awkward silence, the girl smiled slightly and asked, "Hi. I'm Tenten. What's your name?"

"Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage, dattebayo!"

Tenten blinked several times before pressing on, "Why didn't the old lady like you? You seem like a nice person."

Uzumaki Naruto sighed as sadly as a four year old can. "I don't know. None of the villagers like me and they call me a demon. They chase me around and beat me up, especially on my birthday. But I'll become Hokage and then they'll respect me, dattebayo!"

Tenten immediately interjected, twirling a plastic kunai around her finger, "Do you always say that, Chibi?"

A confused Naruto stared at her. "Say what?"

Tenten insisted, "Dattebayo! You end every sentence with it!"

An angry Naruto denied, " I do not! d... d... d..." He was trying very hard to hold it in,

Tenten was laughing at the blond boy's predicament, and finally abandoning the effort his shoulders slumped as he let slip "dattebayo..."

Several seconds later, he suddenly shouted "AND WHO ARE YOU CALLING 'CHIBI'!" Tenten at this point was rolling on the floor laughing her head off, holding her sides to try to keep in the laughter escaping her. Naruto was pouting - cutely, Tenten might add – and furiously trying to come up with a nickname for Tenten. "Oh yeah? O-oh yeah? Well, y-you look like a panda!" Tenten only paused laughing for a second before collapsing again.

Naruto couldn't help but join in this time. And by the time Tenten had sat up, she felt recovered enough to, after wiping the back of her hand across her eyes, retort, "If you say so, Naru-chibi."

That was the final straw. He jumped on her, yelling "TAKE THAT BACK!" and they rolled over and over around the floor in a merciless tickle fight, in which Tenten came out on top, literally.

Naruto, on his back on the floor, crossed his arms and "You win again, Panda-chan."

Tenten was about to make a witty retort when the door opened and the crone said, "Miss Tenten, I brought your bags- OHMYGAWD! WHAT IS THE DEMON BRAT DOING TO YOU!" As Naruto twisted under her to look at the matron, Tenten shivered at the strange sensation and said, "Naruto, stop-" before realizing the position they were in at the same time the old lady picked her up by the back of her blouse as a mother cat would pick up a kitten. Tenten had been very much _on top of_ Naruto and _straddling_ him! Tenten yelled as the crone, of course, jumped to prejudiced conclusions.

"You demon brat! Stop molesting this poor girl and come here, RIGHT NOW!" cried the old hag.

Naruto submitted meekly, but before being led away, he looked over his shoulder and called, "I'll train with you later Tenten-chan!" Tenten waved and Naruto was frogmarched away.

Tenten waited several hours in the attic, busying herself with unpacking her stuff, throwing around kunai and shuriken; usual Tenten stuff. But she still waited for Naruto. Almost at dusk, a weak knock came on the door. Tenten quickly rose from the crouch she was in and hurried to the door and opened it to find a certain blond blue-eyed boy she knew. Naruto was cut and bruised all over, his orange jumpsuit torn and it looked charred in some places, and as he crawled he left a trail of blood down the steps.

He gasped out, "ready... to train... now... Tenten-chan?"


	2. Orphan Part 2

A/N: Hey guys, a bunch of people added this story to their alert lists, but I got no reviews. Pleeeease review? But thanks for reading anyways!

Oh yeah, and I don't own Naruto, never have, never will.

Tenten had gasped in shock at the ruined form that was once known as Naruto Uzumaki. She immediately pulled him inside and after he collapsed again, she breathlessly questioned him on what in the world had happened to have him look like that.

"'S nunthin'." He was having trouble talking, as was evidenced by the bruises on his neck and the puffy face that meant someone had choked and beaten him to within an inch or two of his life. Never mind the kunai in his stomach, either. "I'll be good in a few hours. D'ya have any food?"

Tenten sadly shook her head, and the sunny-blonde jumped up. Tenten let out a small gasp at him already being so active. Through the many rents in his orange jumpsuit, where once there were gashes and bruises, now lay mainly smooth, unmarked skin. As she watched, one scar slowly faded to pink and then away altogether.

She covered her mouth with one hand and pointed at him with the other. "How do you heal that fast?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head with one hand. "What's heal?"

Tenten rolled her eyes; Naruto seemed in no immediate danger. "Chibi, healing means getting better."

"Really, then why didn't you just say so?" Naruto stared innocently at her, his face the picture of confusion.

Sigh. "Whatever."

"So, can we get ramen?"

"Okay... Do you know a place?"

"YATTA! Ramen! Ichiraku's time! Let's go, Ten-chan! Ramen is awesome, dattebayo!" Naruto, acting very much like the Chibi that Tenten called him, grabbed his first friend's hand and pulled her out the door, moving so fast Tenten was off of the ground and stretched out in the air behind Naruto.

"Chibi! Slow down!" Of course, her words were lost in the wind of her passage. So she took a moment to get her feet under her, still running at an insane pace for a step or two, before jump-tackling the little Chibi pulling her around and for the second time that day, rolling over and over before finally coming to a stop.

Tenten stood up a little painfully and extended her hand to Naruto who gladly accepted her help to bounce up. "Let people at least get their feet if you're dragging them off somewhere." she lectured to a distracted Naruto.

"Look it's a squirrel!"

Naruto then remembered he had someone with him, and turned back to her sheepishly, his hands behind his head as he chuckled nervously. "Hehehe... sorry Ten-chan... I'll walk now."

They walked in companionable silence down the main streets of Konoha, ignoring the anger and glares directed at Naruto. They both instinctively flinched as a man wearing green spandex ran down the street calling, "KAKASHI! MY ETERNAL RIVAL! YOUR FLAMES OF YOUTH ARE STRONG, BUT I WILL DEFEAT YOU IN THIS CHALLENGE OR I WILL DO 1000 LAPS AROUND KONOHA ON MY HANDS!" They shuddered as the man passed, chasing a man with spiky silver hair in a jounin uniform who was running away and screaming like a little girl.

"...that was weird." Tenten whispered in a hushed voice.

"Is he supposed to be a shinobi? 'Cause he looks like a maniac wearing spandex..." quietly responded Naruto.

They continued on their way to Ichiraku's without any more spandex-man incidents.

Tenten thought she perhaps had reached the limits of discoveries about her roommate, but nothing could prepare her for Ichiraku Ramen. As soon as he entered and sat down at the counter, a brown-haired girl, without turning, said in a bored tone, "Ichiraku's Ramen. How may I help you?"

Naruto leaned forward excitedly and said, "One of everything and keep 'em coming!"

The brown-haired girl jumped and spun around. "Naruto-kun! You're back! You all better?"

"Yep I am, Ayame-nee-chan! I'm all better now! And I get to have ramen again!"

Tenten looked from one to the other, quite confused. Ayame Ichiraku couldn't be the Chibi's older sister, and what was he all better from? After clearing her throat several times with no effect on the conversing pair, Tenten poked them both in the side and asked loudly, "CAN SOMEONE PLEASE FILL ME IN HERE?"

"Heheh, oh yeah, you don't know about that, do you?" Naruto said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head, unaware that someone wanted to use him as a punching bag right now. Tenten thought she saw a flash of sadness in those cerulean eyes, but it was gone as fast as it had appeared, if it was there.

Ayame cut in, "Normally Naruto comes here at least once a day, but a week or so back, we found him lying unconscious in an alleyway with all of his arms and legs broken by a mob, with several other injuries and broken bones. We got him to the hospital and this is the first time he's gotten back. Anyway, I'm Ayame Ichiraku. Nice to meet you. A friend of Naruto's is a friend of mine." She stuck out her hand towards Tenten. Tenten shook the proffered hand eagerly. "Tenten." Ayame raised an eyebrow at the lack of a family name, and Tenten, reading the gesture correctly, hastened to add, "I know Naru-chibi from the... the..." she snapped her fingers several times before turning to Naruto and asking, "What's the place we live called?"

Naruto, deep in thought, added "Hokage-jiji calls it an or... orpha..."

Ayame helpfully supplied, "Orphanage?"

"Yeah! That's what it's called, dattebayo!"

Ayame turned back to Tenten. "So you're an orphan too, huh? I'm sorry."

The bun-haired girl waved dismissively. "Don't sweat about it. I don't remember them anyway."

After a slightly awkward silence, Tenten asked, "Where's the ramen?"

"My dad's bringing it now."

An old man, walking slightly bent over, came to the counter carrying bowls of ramen. "Here you miso for the pretty girl, and everything else for the Ramen Pit." Tenten blushed and giggled at the nicknames. She finished her bowl and sat back, feeling quite full, and turned to see Naruto. Her jaw hit the floor as she saw the huge stack of empty bowls that was as tall as Naruto, and he showed no signs of stopping.

Tenten turned towards Ayame, one hand pointing towards Naruto and her mouth opening to ask a question, but Ayame answered the unsaid question.

"Yep," she said, "he's always like that."


	3. Orphan Part 3

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Studying for college finals. Review please! And does anyone know the Namikaze emblem?

After the Ramenfest had ended and Naruto had sadly starved Gama-chan, the two children walked hand in hand down the streets back to the orphanage, chatting about anything and everything that came to mind. When they reached the orphanage, the Hokage was there, with a man neither Naruto nor Tenten had seen in the village before. He wore the archaic kind of armor one saw in old pictures of the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokage or Uchiha Madara, except his was dark green instead of red or blue. It had a large spiral engraved in the back and his hair was a strange shade of red he had never seen before. Tenten had, though. "That's the hair color of some kunoichi lady I read about once, Habanero something. I didn't think that color was naturally possible, but..."

The Hokage turned to the pair of them, and smiled, as the red-haired man also turned. His surprisingly young face was framed by a happiru-style headband instead of the hitai-ate, similar to what Nidaime and Yamato wore. Instead of the spiral in a leaf, it contained just the spiral. This man was a mystery, so in typical Naruto fashion, he pointed at the man and said, "Who the heck are you?"

The man looked at Naruto; his eyes narrowed as he saw the spirals on his jacket and he said in a soft aside to the Hokage, "This is my itoko?"

"Mmhm. Naruto, this is your cousin, Uzumaki Anjin. He has offered to take you under his guardianship for a trip of several years. He knows how the villagers feel and he'll take care of you."

Naruto, of course excited at the possibility of an adventure, said, "I have a cousin? Cool!" He ran forward and hugged the man with gravity-defying red hair, crying a little bit. Then he abruptly sobered up and stepped away, saying angrily, "Where were you? Why haven't I had a family all these years?"

The man stepped forward and embraced the boy, ruffling his hair as he cried into his waist. He looked up and saw Tenten, who was glaring at him slightly because he had made the Chibi cry. He made a face and pointed at the back of Naruto's head while mouthing 'Chibi.' Tenten nodded emphatically, grinning widely for emphasis. Then he looked down at Naruto while saying calmly, "I was traveling the Five Nations, looking for some other Uzumakis." Naruto brightened up, blurting out "I have more relatives?"

The man sighed and said sadly, "Nah. I found traces of a girl named Karin in Kusagakure but her village burned down in an attack and no one saw any survivors. I found a family in Amegakure that had been killed by Konoha-nin. The survivors I found were few and far between, and they didn't want to leave their homes." The sad moment was broken by Anjin's sudden straightening up, sensing something or someone. He shunshin'd away milliseconds before a purple blur landed where he had been standing. When it landed, it revealed itself to be Mitarashi Anko, a tokubetsu jounin, who immediately performed her own **Shunshin no Jutsu** (Body Flicker Technique) to chase after the man singing "Anjiiiinnn-chaaaaan..." and the chase began, tan trenchcoat chasing after green armor.

The Hokage sighed and said, "This happens every time he's come back. Geez. And Tenten-san, a family has decided to adopt you, weapon smiths from the east side of town. You can meet them at the orphanage. And Naruto-san, let's go pick up your belongings." Then he walked at a stately pace towards the orphanage, with Tenten and Naruto skipping ahead excitedly.

"... and so these are your new parents, Tenten-san." "YAY!" screamed Tenten excitedly, running forward to hug her new parents. After several seconds, she turned back to the Hokage and asked, "What's going to happen to Naru-chibi?"

"His new guardian is taking him on an extended training trip."

"How long?"

"Several years."

Tenten sobered up immediately and walked up to Naruto.

"I'll miss you, Naru-chibi." And then she gave him a peck on the cheek she had seen people who liked each other very much do in the park. Naruto turned tomato red and fainted, falling backwards with one hand on his cheek, much to the general laughter of the people there. The bun-haired girl smiled and walked off with her new family.

An hour or so later, a red-haired man walked out of the gates of Konoha with a small bundle of energy bouncing around him.

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, but it's the last one in this arc or whatever.


End file.
